An essential part of any visit to Vermont is the farmers markets. I am continuously amazed at their quality and the abundance of the produce -- especially because I know first hand just how unforgiving the weather here can be (frosts in both early June and September, for example).
Yet here we are, Fourth of July weekend, at a producer-only market (once where you can sell only what you produced yourself) and the crops far surpass what is available at the Shepherdstown farmers market, where the growers have an extra 4-6 weeks of growing time at both ends and where they allow selling stuff that was bought in. I'll post some pictures from there when I get home.
Londonderry VT
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Londonderry is at the head of the West River Valley, at an elevation of about 1200 feet, which puts it in about USDA zone 3b-4a, with annual minimum temperatures of -40F possible (I have a picture of -42F in my own Londonderry garden), an average snow-free date of April 15 and an average frost free date of June 1-10 (I have recorded frosts every month of the year, though). Now, most of these growers are from lower elevations nearby, and some are using unheated tunnels or even greenhouses, but that is beside the point.
Londonderry is just a crossroads in the center of southern Vermont; the town is very small and isolated. Yet this market has grown over the past 15 years from three vendors to almost 30, and one told me this weekend that they expected sales of $1000 on that one Saturday.


Oh, and let's not forget Londonderry's cheesemakers, now winning awards statewide and nationwide. Twenty years ago the valley had only two remaining dairy farmers; now the local cheeses are sought out both by chefs and tourists.
Dorset, VT
';[ iih[oihoihoih[oih[oi[ih[k Dorset is west of Londonderry, at the southern end of the Mettowee Valley (one of the most picturesque in Vermont and bordering upstate New York) and at a much lower elevation, so it is not nearly as cold. Dorset is also considerbly larger town, and more upscale, but then its market -- easily now the equal of Londonderry -- is much younger. Some of the same vendors attend, but there are also a number from over the line into the Hoosick Valley of New York.
Of particular note (beyond the general quality of the crops) is the fact that there are multiple bread vendors, all of whom do well, and the potato guy, who is a fourth generation Vermont farmer who saw the potential of specializing to save his farm. This is just the beginning of the season for him, and when I asked him if he was going to have any of my favorite (Blossom, a particularly beautiful spud IMHO) he not only knew the variety but indeed would be digging in them a few weeks. THAT is a local food culture taking root!
But I have to say that my favorite vendor there, because of her marketing savvy is the Filthy Farmgirl, who sells her own artisanal soaps. That woman gets it!